Making a commitment to attend a conference can seem overwhelming when you start imagining costs outside of the ticket. We get it. The best part about a conference filled with lifestyle bloggers and overall great women is we can all come together and figure out ways we can get each other here.

Texas Style Council wants you to attend. Not to spike ticket sales. This conference "sells itself" and wasn't started as a way to roll in the Benjamins. It was started because we genuinely want you here. We have poured our hearts into it, determined to give you the most value and knowledge to melt your face off and fry your brain for a good few days. We are committed to figuring out ways to get you here, so you can benefit from what our speakers, attendees, and sponsors can bring you. Let's do this.

Find Some Deals

Flights

Rewards Travel - If you have a stash of points and miles, now is the time to use them! Have you met that minimum spend on your credit card, and have thousands of miles you could use? Now is a good time to save on a flight. Also, in case you didn't know - nearly all miles can be transferred in your account by someone else.

Kayak.com - This site is great to figure out who has the cheapest flight out of most of the airlines out there. Southwest, Jetblue and a couple of other airlines aren't listed on Kayak, though - so you'll have to check the site directly. There are usually deals on flights with different airlines. It takes effort, but the value usually makes up for it.

Road Trip - Use our community forum to find people who would be willing to road-trip with you (at a reasonable distance)!

Hotels

Aside from actual hotels, there are definitely other dwelling options you should take advantage of. Are you an introvert, who is afraid of asking people to bunk up with? That's what the Internet is for! Ask online and then be awkward in person. That's how this works, right? Right???

Slumber Party! - Use the community forum on our site to see if anyone would be willing to split the cost of their room by sharing it for the nights you're in town for the conference.

Couchsurfing.org - This site is really great for finding people who will allow you to crash at their place for free. Don't wait until the last minute, though, because in a city like Austin - these folks are "booked up" quickly. I have used them a few times and have had great experiences with them.

Airbnb.com - I'm pretty much obsessed with this site. It's a "classier" way to travel than straight-up couchsurfing. It works like a hotel, except you're in people's homes/apartments/lofts. Which, sometimes works out better than a hotel. A lot of the Airbnb-ers are incredibly hospitable, and sometimes you get a whole house to yourself. You also have options to rent just a room, or even rent just a couch. Again, don't wait till the last minute, they go quick!

Cars

Kayak.com - Again, this site can come in handy for finding affordable cars.

Public Transit - I swear, Texas has some of the best public transportation ever. Austin is no exception. Visit the CapMetro site to plan your route and figure out cost. This is a great option since there will be so much to do within walking distance. We also have "pedi-cabs" here, which are just dudes (some girls) on bikes, tugging you along in a comfy seat, for dirt cheap. I personally love riding on those things.

Community Forum - Check out and use our community forum to get people's numbers, who again - are willing to split the cost of a car, taxi, etc.

Food!

Honestly...you should come just for the food. Forget the conference. (Just Kidding) But really, you haven't had great food until you experienced Austin. I know people say that about every city, but our breakfast tacos are critically acclaimed all over the world. Don't miss out on great food. The best part? It's affordable.

Grocery Stores - A few years ago, I had an impromptu trip to Hawaii with some friends. Unfortunately I was completely broke when I went, and if you've ever been there - it's not cheap. It was my second visit, so I knew I couldn't indulge in all the touristy stuff. I was okay with this. Long story short - I visited a grocery store, got a bottle of rum, a pack of pineapple juice, and some Soy creamer. Those who budget like crazy are pros at pre-gaming. ;-) I also got a lot of snacks to keep me full through the day. I ended up saving tons of money doing this. Austin has great grocery stores. HEB, Central Market, and Whole Foods are the best. There's a Whole Foods downtown (the original) off 5th & Lamar, too, so it's convenient. HEBs are everywhere, and Central Market is just a "healthier" version of HEB. But, keep in mind HEB does put out good groceries.

Getting Your Ticket

Ok. So the spending in town isn't a big deal. Maybe you have a lot of friends who live here, or maybe you actually do live in Austin. But, you're not sure how you can score a ticket to Texas Style Council. Again - we want you here. So let's figure this out.

Volunteer - We are definitely always appreciative of our volunteers. We can work something out, where you can work the day of the conference (for a day or shift, depending on task) in exchange for a badge or a steeply discounted badge. We recently came up with a few more volunteer positions we need filled, so contact us below if you want to join our volunteer corps.

Student? - If you have a valid Student ID, we have a limited number of discounted / scholarship tickets partially subsidized by our a few of our lovely sponsors. Again, contact us below if you want to see about nabbing one of our discounted / scholarship tickets.

Donate a Ticket! - If you're in a position where you can actually purchase another ticket for someone else, please do so. Please contact Linda for instructions on how to go about doing that.

Talk to Businesses - Contact brands that would benefit from you being at the Texas Style Council on their behalf. Ask if they would like to "sponsor" your badge, by not just purchasing your badge or covering your travel, but providing "swag" for our attendees (for example). Get creative, but definitely ask! Let them know this is a sold-out conference every year, with hundreds of influential attendees in their industry. Offer them ad space on your site, blog about the conference on their blog, take Instagram photos for them, and pass out their business cards to interested attendees. And credit them on your recap posts and social media coverage, of course!

Let Us Know - So, you've tried all the above, and you're still wondering how you can get a ticket. Maybe you didn't try all the above, but you still want to talk to us about how we can get you here. Please contact us below about getting your awesome self down to TxSC! Let's work something out. If the cost of the badge is seriously the only reason why you can't come, please don't let that deter you! We're here to help!

Have we given you some ground to work with? Hopefully we did, and if we didn't - please reach out to us! We are SO excited to see you at Texas Style Council this year.